The Final Zone: Super Final
by FinalBeyond
Summary: A humourous tale. When an ordinary human travels to Angel Island, wishing to go Super, what adventures will find him? Will the machinations of an obese scientist stop his efforts?
1. Prologue

_Credits and a few explanations can be found at the end of the story. For now, enjoy._

**The Final Zone Book 1  
Super Final**

He seemed such a small figure, a tiny speck in the massive cavern that surrounded him. An insignificant occupant of the rock chamber, glowing green bridges linking the large stone platforms. All in all, Final Beyond was feeling decidedly intimidated by his surroundings. He was an ordinary human being, 16 years old, dressed in nothing more than his favourite shirt (white in colour, but covered in a myriad of turquoise-blue patterns) and some denim jeans. It almost seemed like he was walking into a fancy restaurant in his underwear, when he compared himself with the grandeur of the chamber, and of course, the giant gem in front of him

Truth be told, he was almost entranced by the glory of the Master Emerald. The power... The magnificence. In all honesty, he was kind of surprised that Knuckles had let him near it. The red-furred echidna was notorious for his stubbornness... As well as his alarming tendency to let Angel Island crash into the ocean. But that wasn't relevant. Or something that Final disliked, come to think of it.

After all, were it not for Angel Island landing off the coast of Station Square, he might never have thought of travelling there. His interest in the gems of Earth 2, or Mobius, as it was originally called by the animals of the planet, was normally amateur. He'd read a thesis on the gems by a very interesting writer, but there was only so much you could learn from writing.

On the island that seemed to be the center of these mysteries, he could experience in real life what it was like to achieve the super form. Would his hair just stick up and turn blonde like all those anime characters, or would it be more distinctive, more understated? He was grinning just thinking about it.

Now, he thought, pushing his glasses closer to his eyes, time for the train of thought to pull into the station. No more tangents. It was like needless exposition in his mind. The writer in him, he supposed, before realising that this was just taking him off on another tangent. The important thing was that Knuckles had let him use the emerald. Or so he thought.


	2. Chapter 1

"This isn't the main Master Emerald, of course." Said Knuckles, a red echidna, his dreadlocks swaying in the cool breeze that ran through the cavern. "I'd have to know you for longer before I let you near the real thing. Nobody gets near it unless I trust them."

"What about when Eggman stole it while you were fighting Sonic six years ago?" Final chipped in.

"Apart from that time," said Knuckles, sheepishly.

"Or when Rouge strolled right up to it, before Eggman stole it again, a year or so ago?"

"Well-"

"Or, come to think of it, when Eggman took a picture of it with his future camera thing last month?"

"ENOUGH!" Yelled the echidna irritably.

"Hey, recognise your mistakes. That's the first step to stopping your gullibility, Knux." Said Final, in a soothing voice. "That's why I'm here. To help." The echidna sighed.

"Anyway, this is one of the raw emeralds I took from the spirit of the herd a while back. I've infused it with the energy of the Island's Chaos Emeralds, so it should be the most convenient thing to go super with."

"Awesomeness."

"So, I'll be back in about 10 minutes. Have fun."

As Knuckles walked over to one of the red-orbed transporters and disappeared in a beam of light, Final stepped closer to the battered, but visibly powerful emerald. He pulled himself up on top of it, and pressed a hand against its surface. The gemstone should have, by all laws of physics, been cold. And yet, it seemed warm, like a laptop after hours of use. Final rationalised to himself that the physics of old Earth were outdated. This thing was filled with Chaotic energy, and thus, must have some heat energy as well. He stood atop the emerald, gazing around the chamber, and thought 'Super. Super. Super.'

A beam of light exploded from the edges of the emerald, surrounding him. The light crashed onto the jagged rocks of the cavern above him like water. He slowly rose, gravity no longer applying. He could feel power coursing through his veins! As more power flowed into him, the light slowly faded. As all traces of the light disappeared, he slowly floated back down to the scored surface of the emerald. He sat there for a moment or two, wondering what had happened. He didn't feel super. Could this be it? Was this all? Confusion filled his eyes. Then, as an eyebrow raised in curiosity...

He exploded.

Final walked into a control room, that looked like it was almost thrown in as an afterthought in the chambers of the Hidden Palace Zone. The echidna turned from a large console, that would have looked high tech, had it not been hewn from the rock of the chamber, and his eyes widened as he saw an exuberant Final standing there, blackened and burnt.

"The Emerald made me explode!"

"You what?" Gaped Knuckles, visibly shocked. "No idea why it would do that. Some sort of problem with the internal resonance of the gem? Give me a minute, and I'll rig up a new one. I've just got a call coming through."

"Right, see you down there." Final walked out of the small room, as a image began to fizzle onto a large screen above the console. He wanted to respect the echidna's privacy as much as possible. He had been generous, to say the least, in allowing Final onto the island in the first place. As he strolled back to the emerald's site, he thought back at how he had come to this place.

It had only really been about eight months since Final had arrived on the planet. But it was not just space he had traveled through. It was time.

Final shuddered as he thought of the events that had begun the saga. He focused his mind on the important stuff. When he had returned to his home after... those events... He had found a vortex in his room, swirling and hazy. He had considered the implications of approaching it, but deciding that at this point, he had nothing to lose, he had jumped through, shortly followed by a friend of his.

They had discovered themselves not in the year 2005, but in the year 2455, not that they knew this. Earth was not the center of humanity it once was. Rather, it was a hellhole. A desolate wasteland, the sky a dingy yellow, sandstorms sweeping through the empty tracts of land. They had searched through the remaining buildings of England's once-capital, London, but found no signs of life, other than horrible, zombie like creatures, that they did their best to avoid. Finally, they found a ship, and traveled to a preset destination, that the previous owner had presumably not lived long enough to reach. The ship's computer was set for Earth 2, the new home of humanity.

When they arrived, he and his friends had different intentions of what to do. His friend had wished to have adventures in the wilderness of the planet, but Final... Final was happy to just stay in the city and live a normal life, if only for a short while.

But of course, on the new world, adventure was never far away. Only a short while after moving in with new flatmates in the capital city, Station Square, the portly scientist known as Dr Eggman had invaded. He claimed to have made the perfect plan, sending Sonic the Hedgehog, the foremost hero of this world, on a wild goose chase. Quite literally. He had sent a battle robot of his, Commander Brutus, to attack a colony of Mobian geese in the Northlands.

While the hedgehog was distracted, he had flew to Station Square, and he claimed that this was where the Eggman Empire would begin. Perhaps it would have, but together with his flatmates, Final managed to hack into the battle machine of the scientist, causing it to crash.

Of course, then, Sonic had turned up, jumped at the machine, and hogged the media attention. Final still held a small grudge against the hedgehog for that. But anyway, that had made Final long for further adventure. And after reading a thesis on the gems of the world, by a Miss Azurion Asteracea, he had decided to try and experience the power of these gems for himself. And so he had arrived, and struck a deal with Knuckles. He would help the echidna with his extreme gullibility problem, and in return, Knux would let him go super. And so he stood in the chamber, all in all feeling decidedly intimidated by his surroundings...

Well, that seemed to cover it all. Final felt curiously satisfied at how events had brought him here. The trip to the future had seemed to go his way. Well, the exploding wasn't the best, but now Knuckles would sort that out, and all would be well!

True to form, he saw the echidna storm into the cavern, a large emerald in his arms. Final rushed over, and helped the red animal set the large stone down. Knuckles gave a grunt of thanks, and wandered over to the Raw Emerald that he had previously infused with the Chaos Energy. He levered it up, and removed it from the tube that held it in place. Final went to help, but Knuckles shooed him away.

"What's under here is for my eyes only."

Final was surprised at the fury Knuckles spoke with. Obviously a touchy subject. Did he have his own traumas, reminders hidden below the emerald?

"Pass me the new Emerald." Knuckles said, slightly more calmly.

"Sure." Replied Final, pushing the surprisingly heavy gem towards the echidna. At that moment, Final gained new respect for the strength of Knuckles. He could barely lift it, but Knuckles had carried it to the chamber with one arm.

Knuckles took the emerald when Final was close enough, and slotted it into the tube. He let out a sigh.

"Right, there you go, Final. Should work now."

"Thanks, Knux."

"No problem. I've got some more stuff to sort out, so can you do this on your own?"

"Of course. Ta for everything you've done already."

Knuckles gave a grunt of thanks, and ran back into his control room. Final, meanwhile, was clambering on top of this slightly larger emerald. Once again, a column of energy erupted, surrounding Final, lifting him up. As he floated in the center of this strange energy field, a pulse of light blossomed from his chest and engulfed his entire form.

When it faded, Final looked different. The white and blue shirt he wore was now black and red. His skin was a pale yellow, and his hair, a luminous green. His glasses had become a dark green colour, and the eyes beneath them glowed a powerful orange.

"Yes!" Shouted Final, in an unearthly voice. "It worked! Now to cause some chaos! Heh, chaos is funny because I'm super."

He leaped from the emerald to a nearby platform, and he dashed across the area, hopping over the bridges, smashing some ring boxes to maintain the power of the form. 

Knuckles stood in the control room, speaking to the figure that had called him before he had installed the emerald.

"Thank you for telling me of his treachery. Don't worry, I have taken measures to stop him."

"Well done, my echidna friend. Curing your gullibility. Indeed. With what he has done, this claim is horrible. What, might I ask, did you do to stop him?"

"Installed a faulty emerald. It doesn't give him any real power, just changes his colours and voice."

"A bad recolour... The perfect revenge!" Soon, Final was running through the Sandopolis Zone, unaware of Knuckles' duplicity. He found a red-orbed teleporter. Leaping into it, he found himself on South Island. Obviously a link Knuckles had set up for easy access to the world below.

He knew the area he was in as the Spring Yard Zone. In one direction, the residential blocks of the city. In the other, the walls of a GUN complex. And then, in the distance ahead of him, Final saw a solitary figure. One of the Metallix series, it appeared. It appeared to be Metal Sonic himself.

"Hey!" Shouted Final. "Metal Sonic! You suck! All metal duplicates of established characters suck!"

The robot turned to see who it was that was insulting him. A human, it seemed. But not a regular human. He was unnaturally coloured. A super form, perhaps? Or just the victim of all those dyes and colours humans insisted on covering themselves with?

"Is that so?" Asked the mecha, the small sheets of metal that made his eyelids narrowing. "I shall return."

Metal Sonic blazed off down the path, and Final jumped about, collecting the rings that surrounded this more dangerous part of the zone. When he was well stocked, he returned to where he had stood before. Metal Sonic was already back, with multiple Metal creations behind him. There was the Knuckles Metallix that had menaced the heroes of Earth 2 in the racing tournament, a huge spiky duplicate of Amy, a yellow striped Shadow android, a metal tails (not the doll, thankfully) and the larger Mecha versions of Sonic, an antiquated Silver Sonic model... A small army, almost.

"You may wish to reconsider your decision," chuckled Metal Sonic, with some small satisfaction in his metallic voice.

"Ha!" Shouted Final. "Apologise to you metal freaks? You think I am afraid of you? I am Super Final! I am invincible!"

The mechas began to form a circle around Final. He looked warily at them, but he knew he could not be hurt with the super form. Then, the Silver Sonic charged at him, and knocked him backwards. Final felt the impact every bit as much as he would have normally, and as the Shadow android behind him hit him with an uppercut that sent him flying into the air, he realised he was not super. Not even close. Then, as he landed, his head smashing against the ground, he lapsed into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 2

Much later, Final crawled along the cold ground, trying to remember everything he knew about medicine, which was basically the contents of Metal Gear Solid 3's cure menu. And he didn't even have the equipment from that. The Mechas had done a number on him, no doubt about it. His skull was cracked, and his chest was bruised. He needed help.

And so, his thoughts turned to Knuckles. The echidna had duped him. Humiliated him. Nearly killed him. Not directly, of course, but through his deception, this had happened. Final blamed the echidna as much as he blamed the Mechas. But after beating him, they had moved on, and Final had no idea where to find them. Knuckles would be easier to find. After all, he normally stayed on the island. So long as Eggman didn't start one of his schemes in the next day or so, that assumption would be quite correct, he reasoned. But there was no way he could fight the echidna in this condition. Not on his own, at least. He needed help.

But this time, he knew exactly where to get it.

...

Past the edges of the Spring Yard Zone, through a pass in the mountains that outlined the zone, across a hilly landscape of purple rocks, lay Final's destination. The Marble Zone was a treacherous place for one in Final's condition. But still, he was able to throw himself past the simmering and expanding pools of lava, find the short cuts that took him away from the dangerous and labyrinth-like caverns of the zone, and destruct the numerous broken 'Badniks' that Eggman had spread throughout the island in years long since passed.

A few long hours later, Final reached his ultimate goal. A blank patch of grass at the bottom of a hill. Or so it would seem. Final tapped three times on the piece of ground on which he stood, and the patch he was on began to lower, as many areas did where the lava of the zone was more unstable. But this was not due to lava. As the platform fell, Final looked into the small cavern that lay below the hill.

Inside the area surrounded deep purple bricks lay a few basic amenities. A table made of the green marble remnants of a past civilisation that were throughout the zone, with a small, decidedly out of place television set placed atop it. A small section of the wall was hollowed out, with a rough mattress inside. Then there was a desk, with many drawers, painted to fit in with the colours of the zone. A small computer sat on this desk. Standing beside the desk in the middle of the room was a young man. He was dressed in a white tank top, blue denim jacket, and black denim jeans. He looked at Final with a grin.

"Alright, Final? What can I do for you?"

"Oh, many things, Geo. Let me tell you all about it."

...

Edward Gemoni, known as "Geomonic" or "Geo" to his friends, was one of Final's oldest acquaintances. Indeed, he was the friend from his past that had followed him into the future. Much like his friend Final, he had thrown himself into the adventures of the new world they had arrived on, albeit in a different way. Upon their arrival, he had explored the various islands of the world. 

After a while, he found the Casino Night Zone on Westside Island, and stayed there for a month, singing along with the catchy jingle that played almost constantly in the zone. After that month, security had him thrown out, for 'annoying the guests with upbeat singing'. Indeed, there was a constant security check in the zone, making sure he was not returning. At this point, he had moved to the Marble Zone, and begun constructing his house. Over the internet, he had advertised a detective service, promising to do 'The most dangerous jobs for the most inadequate pay". However, due to the concealed location of his base, he had never gained any customers, much to his disappointment.

...

"And that's the story", said Final, having just recounted the first two chapters of this book to the amused Geo, who had bandaged part of his head, and given some decidedly Big Boss-esque remedies for Final's other injuries. "What do you think we should do about it?" 

Geo paused for a second, deep in concentration. Then, with a gasp of realisation, he looked up with an excited expression.

"I've got it!" Final sat up in his seat, eager to hear his friend's plan. Geo spoke with a calm but proud voice, outlining his intentions.

"I think we should blow him up. With missiles."

Final made no response to his seemingly simplistic plan, and simply stared at Geomonic in disbelief.

"That's your plan? For one thing, how do we find him? For another thing, where the HECK are we going to get any missiles?" Final was practically yelling. Geo just smirked.

"Aha, well, there's something you don't know." Geo picked up a large single barrelled shotgun from a nearby table. "This gun has a built in Echidna seeking missile built in. Don't ask why, it's a useful plot device."

"You really do think of everything." Commented Final, with a smirk. "In the morning, we'll get to the transporter in the Spring Yard. Your weapon'll probably have better range if we're on Angel Island."

"True, true. Won't Knuckles be there, though?"

"We won't be going to where he is. I have a house on the island, We can go there."

And so, the next day, Final and Geo stood outside Final's house, a massive construction made from the green metals of the zone, with stone clad window frames and stairs.

"Nice house." Commented Geo.

"Thanks." Replied Final. "I put blood, sweat, tears, and a heck of a lot of jagged metal into it."

Geo smirked, and cocked the large shotgun that he held in his arms. He pulled the trigger, and a second later, two large bursts of fire shot from the barrel, small missiles following in the wake of the fire a moment afterwards.

"Why did it fire twice?" Asked Final, his eyebrow raising.

"Beats me." Shrugged Geo.

...

A peach-coloured Echidna leant against a tree in the Marble Garden Zone. The echidna, known as Tikal, had been freed from the Master Emerald as a side effect of Eggman's card machine, which considered her to be a separate entity from the Emerald. She had spent the last month wandering the island, which had changed so much from her time. It was such a relief to her to be free of the confines of the emerald. Chaos wasn't the most sociable creature at the best of times. 

She heard a whistling noise, and looked up with a concerned expression, noticing the missile screaming towards her. Her eyes narrowed, and she let out a resigned sigh. Typical.

"Ah well. It's probably not important." Said Final. "Any idea where the missiles went?"

"That area with all the temples, and the Carnival Night Zone."

"Oh yeah. Knuckles might be round there. He's planning to demolish that soon. Apparently the ones who rebuilt it for the public after Angel Island was discovered were working for Eggman."

"Well, so was he, wasn't he?"

"That's not the point. Anyway, he even once tried to punch it off the island, but he's not quite that good."

"Shame."

"So, shall we go and see if it got him?"

"Might as well."

It wasn't hard for the pair to find the area once they reached the Carnival Night Zone. This was mainly because the area was still on fire. On a platform in the centre of the sizzling environment lay the still body of Knuckles.

"Knuckles? Are you dead?" Asked Final, who wondered if it was a pointless question.

To Final's surprise, Knuckles did not give no reply, as he had expected in a rather double-negativish, paradoxical way, and jumped to his feet with a frown on his face.

"No." Replied Knuckles angrily. "But you soon will be."


	4. Chapter 3

"But why?" Asked Final.

"You know why…" Replied Knuckles, tersely. Final thought for a second.

"Um, is it because I hired my friend and got him to fire a missile at you?"

"While that was annoying, no, surprisingly not."

"Well, I'm stumped. Shall we fight now?"

"Sure, why not?"

Final leapt upwards in a spinning jump,, bouncing on a floating balloon that hovered next to the platform Knuckles was on. The orb exploded, propelling Final forwards, barrelling into Knuckles with a mighty crash. The echidna tumbled off the platform and onto the floor. Geo sighed.

"I'm feeling left out."

Making a decision to join in the battle, he pulled a gun from an inside pocket, readied it, and casually shot Knuckles in the face.

"Got him." He smiled.

"I can see that!" Final was practically screaming, aghast at the spectacle. "Look, I need to finish this off, why don't you go and..." Final looked around for something that would distract his friend for a while. "Chase that girl!" He blurted, spotting a figure walking cautiously through the Carnival Night Zone, taking care to avoid the many traps the zone had to offer.

When she saw Geo sprinting towards her, a grin on his face, the girl screamed and ran back through the twists and turns of the zone. Meanwhile, Final picked up the limp body of Knuckles. He was still alive. Final didn't know how. Maybe he had been carrying some rings, or maybe Echidnas were just tougher to kill.

Final tried to think of an ironic punishment for Knuckles, but short of putting him in the faulty emerald's field and asking the Mechas to beat him up, which would more likely result in Final being beaten up again, Final didn't know what to do. Maybe it would be best to ask Knuckles exactly why he had duped him.

...

The echidna awoke with a pain in his head. His eyes still blurry, he tried to figure out where he was. Everything looked green. One of the jungles of Angel Island? No, this was a lighter green, like the Sky Sanctuary Zone. He tried to remember what was important about this zone. Then, he noticed a blurry shape, brown at the top, with a white centre and a blue lower section. Blinking his eyes, he realised it was the shape of a human figure. 

"Final?"

"Ah, you're awake. Good. I want some answers from you."

"Do you expect me to talk?"

"No, Mr. Knuckles, I expect you to die." Knuckles eyes widened.

"Are you serious?"

"Nah, I've just always wanted to say that. But seriously, I would like you to talk. The Master Emerald doesn't protect itself, and you're pretty securely locked up here. I could just leave now and take the Emerald. With some searching, of course."

"Fine, fine, I'll talk."

"So, why did you give me the faulty emeralds?"

"Well, I was told by someone about the list of crimes you had committed." said Knuckles.

"Someone?"

"Someone." Maintained Knuckles.

"Was it... him?" Asked Final, miming a few shapes.

"Yeah..." Admitted Knuckles, sheepishly.

"Now I've warned you about this. Don't listen to him! I've never committed any crimes. Everything I've ever done has been legally sanctioned." Said Final, mumbling his words.

"No, no, not that sort of crime," corrected Knuckles. "More generally."

"Fine, fine. We'll get to that later. For now, I need to go to the surface. Any good gardening shops you know of?"

"Well, there is this little one in the Green Hill Zone. But why would you need to go there?"

"Oh, you'll see." Replied Final cryptically. "Now, I'm going to release you, I'll pop back to the surface to get something from the gardening shop, and then we'll go and meet your informer. Can you get a trace on where the signal is from?"

"Already did. I like to check up on that sort of thing. He's in the Stardust Speedway Zone."

"Of course. That planet appears this month, doesn't it? Damn Earth 2 and its freaky physics."

...

Knuckles ran through the twisting paths of the Stardust Speedway Zone, going to a small destination near the edge of the zone. Finally, he ground to a halt, as across a gap stood the person he had received his information from, standing beside a small computer console.

The figure was morbidly obese, his massive stomach making his body look almost egg like. His arms and legs, however, were thin, almost to the point where they looked comical. He wore a black boiler suit, with a modified red tailcoat draping over his frame. The tailcoat was adorned by white trimming, and small golden ornaments.

"Doctor," acknowledged Knuckles.

"Why, Knuckles!" Exclaimed the rotund doctor, jubilantly. "How are you?"

"I'm not here to exchange pleasantries. Why did you tell me that Final was the one who wiped out the echidna species, killed Sonic, stole a Chaos Emerald AND ate my lunch?"

"Because you're just so gullible." Sighed Eggman.

"Oh." Was Knuckles' only reaction, as he looked at the ground sheepishly. Then, from behind him, there came a distant call, almost like a battle cry. Final charged around a yellow, trumpet like pillar, an object in his hand.

"EGGMAN!" He yelled. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU! WITH A RAKE!" He leapt over the gap that separated the scientist from Knuckles, brandishing the said weapon in his hands.

Eggman, for his part, dashed off as fast as he could. For a few seconds, Knuckles merely watched the chase. Then, there came a terrible, high pitched scream, and Knuckles winced.

"Wow." He breathed quietly, disgusted, yet unable to turn away from the spectacle.


	5. Chapter 4

And so, the hectic week was winding down. Knuckles and Final walked contentedly through the now familiar chambers of the Hidden Palace. They approached the now-empty tube that the emerald had sat in.

"So, no going super now, then?" Asked Final with a sigh.

"Oh, even better." Said Knuckles with a grin. "Jump in,"

Final obliged, slipping into the tube, sliding down the narrow tunnel, until he landed with a thump on the floor below. The area was crystalline, and he looked around, staring at the 7 Super Emeralds that surrounded the focal point of the chamber, the real Master Emerald.

"Hop up." Said Knuckles, as he landed more gracefully than Final on the floor. Final clambered up a string of crystals that dangled from the platform of the Master Emerald. He climbed on top of the emerald, and with a whoosh, a blaze of energy carried him upwards.

"With the power of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Energy combined, you won't just be Super, you'll be Hyper."

"Awesome!"

Final began to shudder, and his colour scheme seemed to explode from him. Final spoke with a complete air of serenity and power.

"I am Hyper Final."

Then, he began to spin around and around, before zipping around the chamber in a jerky flight, circling the emeralds and even Knuckles himself.

"Look at me! Look at me!" The voice was no longer serene, but high pitched and energetic, like that of a small child who spent a long time inhaling helium.

"Guess that humans really do go Hyper." Said Knuckles with a grin, watching Final go spiralling out of the chamber.


	6. Afterword and Credits

A little note, to explain the context here.

First off, the continuity here is a bit different to usual Sonic, in a follow-up to Joe Oliver Edwards' Jason Vs Sonic series. This series is therefore set on 'Earth 2' in the year 2455, which is when and where he decided to place Sonic's adventures. The original Earth has died, explaining the presence of humans, who took to space to find a new home.

Secondly, what exactly is this series? Reading this, the first book, it may strike you that the plot is a little unoriginal, and the characters too cliched. You're probably right. I 'wrote' this in early 2005, or rather, made it as an animated sprite comic. It was just something to make my friends laugh, really. But as I continued making the comics, a plot started to develop. The actual plot probably went further in the follow ups, which are of a much higher quality. When I decided that I no longer wanted to make an average of 50 frames (normally more) to tell a tiny bit of the story, I decided to convert to prose, in around May this year. This is the result.

All that remains to be said is that all the Sega-based locations and characters most definitely belong to them, and the same for anything else I've references. My original characters are, however, mine. Woo.


End file.
